Ballot-box.



E. J. McGOWAN.

BALLOT BOX.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6, I918.

1,275,579. Patented Aug. 13, 1918.

F'lGi.

; EDWARD J. MCGOWAN, oFivnw'YoRx, N. Y.

OFFICE.

BALLOT-30x Specification of Letterslatent. Patented. Aug. 13, 1918.

Application filed March 8, 1918 Serial No. 221,132.

To all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, EDWARD J. MOGOWAN, a citizen of the United States,residing in the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of "NewYork, have invented certain new anduseful' Improvements in Ballot-Boxes, of which the following is a specification. 3 I i My inventionrelates to improvements in ballot boxes and particularly to the type ofbox having a cover with a slottherein adapted to permit the deposit ofballots therethrough.

My invention has for its object the provision'of means within the boxitself whereby the slotted aperture may be closed, after the ballotshave been cast,-bya metallic plate, and such plate may then be locked inits closed position by the same locking means by which the closed coveris locked to the box.

t It has for its further object the provision of means, within the box,for locking the slot-closing plate in its open position while the box isin use for receiving the deposit of ballots andjexterior' locking meansindependent of the interlor means for locking the cover in its closedposition.

Further objects of my invention are to afford simple and convenientmeans for se curing and protecting the contents 'of the box after thepolls are closed, the ballots counted and the tally sheets certified anddeposited in the box with the] redeposited ballots by the tallyclerk orother official of the board of election inspectors, or such officials ashave charge of the count in the firstinstance at the polling place,whose duty it is to seal the box and deliver it to its custodian pendinga recount, if any; also the provision of a box having noexterior partswhich would interfere with its'being' stacked and'preferably ofrectangular shape, the cover or lid being flat to admit of stack- In thepreferred form of my invenfurther objects are to provide such aself-contained structure and in which the slot must be closed in orderto lock the cover and wherein the slot can not be opened until the coveris opened, and wherein, fur

ther, closing the cover automatically locks both the slot and-the cover.

Heretofore it has been customary to seal the" slot by means external tothe box, and to lock the box by an exterior lock, customarily a padlock.It has been found that devices used for these purposes are readilytampered with, and by reason of their exposed character, such devicesinvite examination by the curious, and the boxes so protected arefrequently damaged'as to their seals, not only maliciously but alsounii1 tentiona'lly, so that their conditionis rendered such as to affordno guaranty as'to the inviolability of their contents.

' By my improvements these difficulties are overcome and the greatestsecurity for the ballots as returned is obtained, my ballot box beingboth fool and knave-proof to such a degree that any tampering, therewithis'a matter at once-capable of detection, since thesecurity of thebox-when sealed and locked can only be violated by use of means adaptedto'break'it open.

The above recited objects and advantages,

. with others hereinafter set forth, are attained by my invention, whosepreferred structural embodiment is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings forming a part of this specification. i

In these drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a standardform of ballot box, such as'is used in the State'of New York, having aballot-receiving slot and exterior fastening means comprising a hasp andstaple adapted'to receive a pad-' lock; 2 shows the sealing and lockingmechanism on the interior of the raisedlid,

the box body being broken away; Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to Fig.2, the said mechanism being in its alternative position; Fig. 4 is asectional view on line IVIV of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a sectional view 7 online V-V of Fig. 3.

Throughout the several figures like numerals indicate like parts.

1 is the ballot box, having thehingedlid 2 with the slotted aperture 8therein, and the hinged hasp 4. for engagement with the staple 5 onthebox front 6, and adapted to receive a padlock 7. Within the box:front 6 and rigidly aflixed and permanently secured thereto is thespring lock 8 having the detents 9. Upon the inside of the cover 2 areguides 10', 10 within which is a slidable plate 11 having a flange 12adapted to engage with a leaf spring catch 13. The plate has arectangular opening 14: against whose opposite wall the stop 15 fixed onthe lid is adapted "alternately to bear to limit motion of the plate ineither direction. The upper edge of the plate is bent upward to form anupstanding flange 16 and is then bent inward to form an inturned member17 having a. slot 18 adapted to receive the detents 9 of the spring lock8 mounted on the front wall of the box and provided with the key-hole l9therethrough for unlocking it. The cover is suitably hinged at 20, 20 tothe box body. V

The method of use of this improved ballot box is as follows: The coverbeing open, the slidable plate 11 is moved into the position shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 4, so as to present an unobstructed slot for the depositof ballots, being held in retracted position by engagement of its flange12 with the spring clip 13. The cover is then closed and the hinged hasp4 is engaged with the staple 5 and padlocked thereto. Afterthe polls areclosed and the canvassing board open the box to count the ballots, theplate 11 is released from the spring clip and advanced so as to closethe slot, the wall of the opening 1a abutting against the stop 15, asshown in Figs. 3 and 5. The counted ballots and the return thereof bythe enumerators is then placed within the box and the lid close-d. Bymoving the slidable plate against the stop 15, the inturned flangemember 17 is brought in position so that upon closing. the cover theslot 18 in the member 17 registers with the detents 9 of the spring lock8 and the cover is held thereby in closed position, the plate beinglocked in closed position as well, whereby the slot 3 in the cover issealed. The sealing and locking plate is of metal, thus the locked boxconstitutes a self-contained structure of such strength that it can notbe opened readily save by unlocking, and its contents can not beinjured, abstracted nor altered through the sealed slot. Theself-contained feature of this structure is a further advantage in thatby the avoidance of external projections Or fastening means above thecover, the boxes, when placed in a safe deposit vault or other storagewarehouse, may be stored with economy of space, since they may bereadily piled or stacked. The hasplock may be also employed as an addedsecurity if desired, but this is not essential when the spring lockengages the cover.

Having thus described the preferred em bodiment of my invention, whosestructural details are susceptible of modification without departingfrom the spirit of my disclosure, and without desiringto be understoodas limiting my invention to the particular form. thereof shown anddescribed, I claim:

1. A ballot box having a lid with a ballotreceiving aperture therein,means carried by said lid adapted to close said aperture, and meansadapted to lock both said closing means and said lid in. closedpositions, said closing means and said locking means being locatedwholly within the box, said locking means becoming automaticallyoperative upon the closing of the lid.

2. A ballot box having a lid hinged thereto with a ballot-reeeiving-slottherein, closing means located wholly within the box adapted to be movedto close said slot, and when so moved to be locked in closed position,and locking means located wholly within the box, adapted to be operatedby shutting the lid and to cooperate with said closing means to locksimultaneously both said closing means and said lid in closed positions.

3. A ballot box having a lid hinged at one side thereof, and aballot-receiving-slot therein, closure means within said lid adapted to.be moved to close said slot, and locking means fixed. to the oppositeinner side of said box adapted to engage said closure means when inclosed position, said lockingmeans being operable both to lock said lidand to lock said closure means, and being automatically operated by theclosing of the lid.

4. A ballot box having a lid with a ballotreceiving-aperture therein, aplate adapted to slide in guides on the inner side of said lid, saidplate having an aperture therein adapted to register with saidballot-receiving aperture when moved in one direction, and to close thesame when moved in the opposite direction, a stop limiting the movementof said plate in either direction, means adapted to lock said plate inits slotexposing position, and means adapted to lock said plate in itsslot-closing position.

5. A ballotbox having a cover with a slot therein, a spring lock, uponthe interior of a wall of said box, means within said cover adapted toengage said spring lock, said means comprising a slotted plate adaptedto be moved upon said cover alternately to expose said slot and to closesame, said'plate having an extension adapted to engage said look whenthe plate is in slot-closing position, whereby closing the coversimultaneously locks both said box cover and said slot-closing plate.

6. A self-contained ballot box adapted to be stacked and having a flatlid, said lid having a ballot-receiving slot therein, means within saidlid adapted to close said slot, and means within said box adapted tomaintain said slot closed while the lid is closed, said means beingadapted to operate automatically upon and by the closing of the lid.

EDWVARD J. MoGOlVAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

